A young Perth ecologist and carnivorous plant expert working to restore billions of years' worth of evolution in WA's desolate mine-scapes was awarded early career scientist of the year with a $10,000 prize at the prestigious Premier's science awards on Tuesday night.

Dr Adam Cross is a supervisor at Curtin University's ARC Centre for Mining Restoration, a university lecturer and researcher, and the world authority on the carnivorous plant species Aldrovanda vesiculosa and Cephalotus follicularis.

Curtin researcher Adam Cross holding a sample of the rare carnivorous plant in the Kimberley.

A keen botanist and ecologist since the age of six, Dr Cross now steps into the picture when WA mines near the end of their lifespans.

He is often left with the mammoth task of rehabilitating completely destroyed moonscapes in a matter of five to ten years - a process which would normally take nature millions of years - in a bid to meet regulation requirements and restore WA's natural landscapes.

Mining means unearthing rock particles that had been in the bedrock millions of years to the surface, which can cause problems for species who have learned to adapt to a different ground, and it's up to Dr Cross to use nature to figure out how to accelerate rehabilitation.

In a process Dr Cross says resembles "trying to terraform the moon or Mars", he uses chronosequences - that is, similar ecological sites that represent different stages in land formation - to study the aging process of the soil and apply it to mining areas with similar characteristics.

But with upwards of 11,000 abandoned mine sites and about 200,000 abandoned mining "features" across WA, it's a David and Goliath struggle.

"Every time a new mineral is created, the waste product is completely different," he said.

"One site a hundred kilometres away from another site might have completely different rock that results in a completely different land form, but also has completely different plants and animals that have adapted to those.

"It's like trying to reinvent the wheel."

An optimist by nature, Dr Cross said the field had started to see small success storiess which had helped to tackle negativity in Australian biodiversity and conservation circles and shift the focus of resource industry giants towards land restoration.

Dr Cross was nominated for early career scientist of the year back in July, and previously said recognising conservation ecology next to traditional science fields such as genetics and medicine was extremely important.

"As a society we are realising there's this massive and increasing need to address landscape degradation from agriculture, mining or whatever it might be," he said.

"It's a fantastic feeling ... but I think the most significant thing personally is that it's really fantastic to see ecology getting recognised."

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However, he said it was extremely difficult for early career scientists like himself to get continuity in their academic work due to extremely competitive workplaces and reduced funding, particularly within environmental science.

"I passionately want to be where I am now, researching, teaching, supervising students, the academic teaching and research space," he said.

"The problem is that it's very difficult as an early career researcher to transition into a career in research, particularly in Australia where there is still not adequate funding for science and for universities and for research.

"I'd like to see a much greater investment in the environmental sciences in the future because in the absence of that investment we probably won't achieve what we want to achieve."

He has now received $10,000 for his award win.

The Premier's Science Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of WA's science community. The awards cover all fields of science and including natural, medical, applied and technological science, engineering and mathematics.

This year's prestigious scientist of the year accolade was jointly awarded to Curtin University professor Phil Bland and Edith Cowan University professor Robert Newton.

Mr Bland was recognised for his work exploring the origin and evolution of the solar system through the analysis of meteorites, while Mr Newton was awarded for his research on the applications of exercise medicine in cancer suppression and treatment.

The 2019 Premier's science award winners:

Professor Phil Bland, Curtin University and Professor Robert Newton, Edith Cowan University - joint winners Scientist of the Year ($50,000)

Dr Adam Cross, Curtin University - Woodsife Early Career Scientist of the Year ($10,000)

Jessica Kretzmann, University of Western Australia - ExxonMobil Student Scientist of the Year ($10,000)

Sharynne Hamilton, University of Western Australia, Telethon Kids Institute - Shell Aboriginal STEM Student of the Year ($10,000)